Grief
by MyHikari
Summary: Ino promised herself she wouldn't cry at her father's funeral. But of course, nothing goes according to plan. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

Grief

A/N: I don't know how or why this happened, all I know is that I felt like writing some KibaIno and can never bring myself to complete my attemots at them for some reason. So anyway, I bet a lot of you KibaIno readers might know my sister Infinite Katalyst who writes the KibaIno story Trauma. I imagine this story will be kinda short, and it is in no way related to my story Blood is Thicker. I really hope you guys like this one, it is my first foray into this particular pairing. They always stump me it seems, and its frustrating because I love them so much.

* * *

Ino had sworn to herself that she would not cry. The sky had been gray all day, matching her feelings of sadness. The funeral had been earlier today, before the rain had started, and Ino had stayed so strong. She allowed her mother to weep on her shoulder without shedding a single tear, and she remained composed when Choji enveloped Shikamaru and Ino in a large hug, apologizing for the deaths of their fathers when it wasn't his fault. She even absorbed Sakura's pitiful look with sheer willpower not to cry.

But for some reason it was Kiba of all people who cracked her. He merely came up to her and whispered "It gets better."

She had looked at him in shock. Did he really have the gall to come up to her and say such a thing when she had suffered such a momentous loss? All she manage to say was "Wha-" before he cut her off.

"My father, he died when I was young. You always miss them, but its less painful when you come to term with it."

By this point, most of the people had cleared from the funeral, and the drizzle was starting to fall. Ino sobbed slightly before tears started to pour down her face, waiting all day to fall. Breaking down, she turned her back to him, her body being wracked with sobs, and small raindrops intermingling with the hot tears traveling down her face. Kiba was at a loss.

"I..I tried to stay str-strong.." Ino managed out, wondering why she was telling him all this. The dolt was standing there with a panicked face even though he had caused this mess.

"Hey hey, I get it, I saw Hana do the same thing so I wouldn't get too sad," he said, hesitantly patting her shoulder. He knew he should be more consoling, the girl had lost her father after all, but he didn't know what to do with crying girls. He didn't know what compelled him to approach her, but he knew he was trying to make her feel better, he hadn't expected her to cry.

Ino continued to sob, and was surprised when she felt her knees give out, causing Kiba to try to catch her by wrapping both of him arms around her torso, but it made them both fall to the ground, Ino's face landing on his shoulder. Her tears already pooled on his leather jacket, and both parties were soaked from the rain.

A flash of lightning and a crack of thunder made her leap into his arms more than she already was, and he was startled by her close proximity to him. The raindrops became colder and fatter, and the two were drenched. Desiring a change of position, Kiba began to stand up, guiding Ino up as well with his arms. He tried to rub her back soothingly like his sister did to him when they had lost their father, but found it too awkward and pulled away from his embrace with Ino.

Her tears had subsided, and she was now looking at him, her aqua eyes red and puffy. She didn't know what had just happened between them, but was grateful for the comfort he had, albeit _tried_ to give her. It was weird of her to accept comfort from someone she didn't know very well, but she appreciated the gesture all the same.

"Thank you, I didn't mean to cry all over you," she croaked, wiping her eyes vigourously, even though the rain kept falling. Kiba rubbed his soaked hair sheepishly, "Uh, it's no trouble."

She trembled slightly, and Kiba just sighed before taking off his jacket. "Here, put this on, we're taking you home now." He was being surprisingly noble at the moment.

She put it around her shoulders sadly, so uncharacteristic of her he thought. Had it been any normal day she would have trounced off on her way home alone, grumbling about she didn't need any of his patriarchial bullshit. It had happened to Shikamaru and Choji before when they offered to carry her home after one training session where she twisted her ankle.

Her skin was pale and cold and her hair was saturated and hung limply from her ponytail holder, he noted as led her by the hand home. "He's not going to be waiting for me at home," Ino whispered, mostly to herself.

Kiba lowered his eyes as he remembered the feeling. He would excitedly dash home from school as a child before remembering that his father wasn't there waiting for him. It was no Uchiha massacre, but his own personal tragedy caused painful twinges in Kiba's heart from time to time, and this was definitely one of those times.

"How's Shikamaru holding up?" he asked, trying to diffuse the glum situation, though he realized too late it was equally glum conversation.

She sniffed. "I don't know. He looks like he's holding up better, but he took Asuma's death harder than Choji or I and I think he's basically reliving the experience."

Ino was surprised she had said that. She had been thinking it quietly to herself all week, and hadn't meant to say it. This whole experience was very weird for her, as she was allowing Kiba to hold her hand while she wore his jacket. And since she was hugging him earlier, she was pretty sure that this was the most she had ever touched him fact, they hadn't really ever spoken much to each other.

Although, now that she thought about it, she remembered interacting with him a little during the war. "Um, Kiba?" she began, sniffing again. "Thanks for saving me that one time during the war."

"Oh, you mean when I caught you? No problem." He said, trying to remain nonchalant. He couldn't believe she remembered that, it had been literally been about 30 seconds, and so much else had happened to overshadow that moment.

"Yeah, but...who knows what could have happened..."

"Uh, Ino don't talk like that! Nothing ended up happening, so it was ok."

She faltered, and was silent for a few moments more as they turned the corner, nearing her house. The rain was beginning to let up, and they thunder and lightning had ceased. They stopped in front of her house, stepping onto the porch, where its roof shielded them from the rain.

"I'm really sorry for crying all over you, I bet my cry face was really ugly.I just, miss my Dad so much. He usually was the one who comforted me when things got rough, like with Asuma-sensei, but now he's...gone."

"It's ok, Ino, really. We've all lost a lot, and I get it. I was really sad when my Dad died too."

"Thanks, Kiba." Ino said, giving him a polite wave before opening the door to her house and stepping inside, giving him a last look over her shoulder. Inevitably, her mom and some clan members were probably inside wondering where on earth she'd disappeared to and why she was so wet.

Watching her go, Kiba turned around, hopped off the porch and sighed as he realized she still had his jacket. "Dammit," he growled, mentally smacking himself for forgetting to ask for it back. He half considered knocking on the door to ask for it, but shrugged and continued on his way.

He allowed his legs to just take him where they wanted, he didn't have Akamaru with him today because of the funeral, Inuzuka dogs would howl in grief, something he expected the Yamanaka to not appreciate, just like the prissy Hyuuga didn't.

Not really surprised, he ended up in the Inuzuka clan graveyard, right in front of his father's grave. The epitaph was slightly eroded at the corners, and very soggy, dead flowers sat at its base. He wiped them away, and sat down on the squishy grass in front of it.

"Hey Dad," he mumbled, looking at his hands. Repressed sadness bubbled to the surface, and a few tears spilled down his cheeks.

He didn't sob like Ino had, but knew it was because of her he was doing it. She reminded him so damn much of that feeling, he could not help to recall it.

Of course, what he had said to her was true. It did get easier over time, but he always missed his Dad. Sighing dejectedly, he stood, wiped his face and headed towards the compound, where he knew Akamaru was waiting patiently for him.

The sky was beginning to become less gray, and the late afternoon sun was starting to peek through the large rain clouds. Kiba entered his home, where Akamaru jumped on him excitedly. Hana looked up from a book she was reading on the couch, confused by his appearance.

"Why are you all wet?"

"It rained, dumbass, I'm gonna take a shower," Kiba said, not looking her in the eyes lest she see his were red from crying.

"But you're already wet, and don't call me a dumbass I'm smarter than you!"

"I'm cold that's why," he growled and dashed up the stairs, Akamaru at his feet.

"Oh whatever," Hana said, flipping to the next page of her book. '_Teenagers_...'

* * *

A/N: What do you think? Love it? Hate it? Wish i'd quit writing?

Cool! Leave a review. My goal is 5. :) it takes like 30 seconds to tell me what you think, and I appreciate your guys' imput and constructive criticism!

MyHikari


	2. Chapter 2

Grief Chapter 2

A/N: So here's the second chapter of Grief and if you're looking for Blood is Thicker, don't worry I'll get to it soon. I've just been so busy with my drama club, I assure you I'll probably be more consistent with updates from now on. Thank you to everyone who faved, followed and reviewed I appreciate it so much.

Infinite Katalyst: I thought the howling dogs thing made a lot of sense. And, by the way, where is a Trauma update?

KibaAndBits: Oh don't worry, you'll most definitely find out if they get together.

Guest: I think of Ino as a girly girl, but is still a strong woman!

Pootterbot: Aww thanks, well here is more!

* * *

It had been a week since Inoichi's funeral. Ino had seldom been home, not really bearing to be around so many of her father's possessions. She knew it hurt her mother, but she couldn't find the will to stay around and look at the pictures, the possessions and the places her father liked to sit in.

Instead, she trained. Not with Choji or Shikamaru, she wasn't ready to face them, and not with Sakura either. The medic and Naruto were still dealing with the fate of the newly recovered Sasuke, and Ino didn't want to get in the way of that. The Yamanaka trained alone, rarely seeing her friends except when she worked shifts at the hospital.

She had been shirking her duties at the flower shop, but the new girl her mother had recently hired didn't seem to mind. The girl was pregnant at only 17 and desperately needed money, sometimes begging Yamanaka Flowers employees to take days off. Jun was her name, and she was working to support herself, after being kicked out by her father and rejected by her boyfriend.

Ino walked into the shop, still in her training wear, straight towards Jun. The girl's pretty brunette hair seemed a little dull, and there were bags under her violet eyes, probably due to tiredness. Being in her seventh month of pregnancy, her body was beginning to grow heavy.

"Hey Jun, do you need me to take over?" Ino asked, picking up a heavy pot the girl was reaching for. Being a civilian, she was nowhere near as strong as Ino, and being pregnant certainly did not help Jun's case.

"No, I would like to stay and work if that's ok with you, Ino!"

Ino looked at the girl seriously, taking her hands. "Listen, Jun, you look exhausted. I know you need the money, but if you don't relax sometimes, you'll be too tired to take care of your son when he's born. I'm grateful you've been filling in my shifts all week, but you need to have some rest for the sake of your health."

Jun sniffed a little, her eyes welling up. "But you've been training and working at the hospital all week, when do you get rest?"

Ino smiled slightly. "I'm not pregnant though, Jun. You need it way more than I do, because your son needs you to be healthy."

"Ok," the girl muttered sadly. "I understand."

Watching her gather her things, Ino put on her apron with a sparkly nametag attached and waved goodbye to Jun. She had had only a second to go over the sales book before she looked up and saw Kiba standing there.

"Hey," he said awkwardly, tapping his fingers on the desk. Ino was surprised to see him, but put on a small smile. "Can I help you, Kiba?"

"Yeah, I need some herbs for the veterinary clinic, but the medicine shop I go to just closed, and I was wondering if you carried them?" he asked, holding out a list.

"Are you Hana's errand boy?" she asked with a smirk, reviewing the list he'd handed her. The Inuzuka rolled his eyes, and nodded slightly.

"She usually recruits me when I'm not training or doing missions. It's annoying, but I like walking the dogs. It's probably like your job here, a family business thing."

Turning her back to Kiba, Ino started to pull jars from a cabinet along with some measuring cups, setting them on the desk. "Some of these herbs," she began, "can only be kept in our back room, cuz sometimes they can be used in poisons. However, when I'm done measuring these out, I will take you in there and get you what you need."

"Wow, thanks, Ino. I owe you one."

Focused on measuring out the herbs and pouring them into labeled packages, Ino waved nonchalantly. "Hana's always been nice to us, so I'll save you a trek to the other side of the village. Although, you could pick some of this yourself in the forest..."

"Yeah, I could," Kiba began lazily, "but then you would lose a sale, and I would lose a day of productivity."

"You remind me of that damn Shikamaru," Ino huffed, gesturing for him to follow her to the back room. The stronger herbs were kept there, reserved only for certain clients, such as doctors or ninjas who used poison. The room had a very strong smell Kiba noticed, and the already filled bags he was holding certainly didn't help the situation.

Noticing his crinkled nose, Ino chuckled a bit. "I forgot how strong this would smell to you. Sorry."

Looking at the list once again, Ino began to mix herbs here and there with a mortar and pestle. Frowning at the list, Ino reached for another jar. "For this certain kind of salve, I think this ingredient should be added. It helps speed up the reaction of the other two."

"You know all that stuff?" Kiba asked, leaning on the door frame, watching her work. She nodded. "I've studied it for years, both from my mom and from working in medicine. I may not be as good at healing as Sakura, but my medicine is slightly better than hers, even better than that Hyuuga salve Hinata carries all the time."

"What do you do in your free time, cuz it sounds like you don't have any."

Ino shrugged, still grinding up a mixture, adding a little oil that smelled quite flowery. "Shop, make perfume, train, maybe read a little."

"You make your own perfume? What's wrong with the stuff from the store?"

"Considering we sell some of it, it IS stuff from a store, and it's a hobby, I like it." Ino replied, pouring her mixture into a jar.

"I guess that explains why you always smell like different flowers. Hinata wears the same stuff all the time, and it doesn't smell as good."

Ino blushed a little, and was thankful she had her back to him. She didn't know how to react earlier when she saw him, especially after what had happened between them after her father's funeral. She had thrown herself into work to deal with her grief, and therefore hadn't expected to have to deal with him again.

"Here's the last of the stuff on your list, Kiba," the blonde said, hurriedly pouring the mixture into a small jar and shoving it into his hands. She then moved straight past him, took a deep breath and started ringing up his purchases.

He looked at her curiously, but paid for the herbs and mixtures nonthless, placing them in a bag Hana had given him. "Thanks for everything, Ino."

"No problem, say hello to your sister for me."

The Inuzuka turned to leave, but then stopped and turned back to face her. "By the way, you still have my jacket."

Ino blushed wildly, realizing that explained why he wasn't wearing it, instead opting for a black t-shirt. She opened her mouth to say something, but he beat her to it.

"Just drop it off when you can," he said with a smirk and finally exited the store. Ino watched him leave and rolled her eyes. Of course she would've forgotten all about the jacket! Now she had to return it!

* * *

After her shift at the flower shop, Ino went back home, and raced through eating her dinner with her mother. It was really quiet between them, and had been ever since Inoichi's passing.

Determined to return Kiba's jacket and be done with him once and for all before it got too late, Ino cleaned her plate before her mother was even halfway finished. She stood to get rid of her dishes, prompting her mother to look at her for the first time that evening.

"You're in a hurry," the matriarch remarked, looking sad. Ino shrugged, "I have to return something to someone, and I want to do it before it gets late."

"Well, do make sure to be home soon, dear. You've been making yourself awfully scare around here lately. I barely see you anymore."

Ino felt a small pool of regret in her stomach, but charged on into the kitchen to clean her plate, then upstairs to fetch the jacket. This whole ordeal must have been hard on Ino's mom, harder for her than Ino. While Ino could throw herself into distractions such as training and working at the hospital, Ino's mother could only manage the flower shop, which surely reminded her of Inoichi.

Ino refused to dwell on it, however. She got antsy thinking about spending too much time with her mother, lest she have to talk about her father.

Stepping out into the street, Ino shivered slightly due to the chill in the air, and slipped on Kiba's jacket. She figured she could slip it off before arriving at his house, and he'd never be the wiser.

The jacket was slightly heavier than she'd imagined, and smelled strongly of leather, grass and pine. Kiba did tend to spend a lot of time training in the woods rather than regular training fields, preferring the challenge that terrain gave.

'He would be interesting to train with,' she thought to herself, nearing the Inuzuka compound. She immediately slipped off the jacket, and entered the compound. The grass was a little on the long side, and there was very large kennels next to the clan's personal veterinary clinic.

She must have been looking around for some time, because Kiba suddenly appeared on the main houses porch, leaning against the door frame. "I sensed you coming."

"Did you?" she asked, approaching the porch, holding out the jacket for him. He nodded, adding "Everyone else around here smells like their dogs, so I knew it was you right away."

Blushing angrily, she remained silent, but her feet gave her away as they started to turn towards the gate. "You wore this jacket recently, didn't you?" he asked her, looking too handsome and pleased with himself.

"It was cold," she sneered, turning completely towards the gate and walking to it. "Anyways, thanks for letting me borrrow it, I'll see ya aroun-"

"Hey, wait a second! Hana wants to talk to you." Kiba said, grabbing her wrist. She spun to face him, shocked by how quickly he caught up to her, and also how warm his hand was on her wrist.

"She wants to talk to me?" Ino asked, trying to remain composed. He rolled his eyes, and gestured for her to follow him to the clinic.

Rubbing the spot where he had grabbed her indignantly, she followed him into the building. Inside, she could hear a lot of barking, and it smelled strongly of dog, making Ino's nose crinkle slightly. Hana looked up from a desk with a wide smile.

"Hi, Ino! Thanks for making those herb mixtures for me!"

Ino started to play with the bottom of her bangs a little, which Kiba noticed. "It was nothing, I'm happy to help!"

"Well your mixture was much better than the standard one that pharmacy would give me. In fact, it's so much better that I was wondering if Yamanaka Flowers, or rather, specifically you, would like to start making our medicines? We'd pay you, naturally."

"Wow, I don't know what to say. I'd have to talk to my mom about taking you guys on as a client, but I'd certainly like to, we have most of the herbs and I know how to get the other ones."

"Excellent! Well, if you need me to talk to your mother, I will, but once we get the go ahead I'll start sending Kiba to pick up our orders every week or so." Hana said, scribbling down medicines and needed herbs on an order sheet from her old pharmacy, with the name crossed off and 'Yamanaka flowers' written on the top.

"Once I told Hana about how you made everything, she got this idea in her head, and was actually going to stop you at the Flower Shop." Kiba said, rolling his eyes a little at his sister.

Ino smiled, "Well actually I guess it's good you caught me now, I haven't been working much at the flower shop lately."

"Ever since your..." Kiba started, his voice trailing off once he noticed the Ino's stance become less relaxed. Hana handed her the order form, trying to distract from the sudden tense atmosphere in the room.

"If you can't do it, Ino, let me know, but here's a typical order from us. I look forward to hearing from you!"

"Thank you, Hana," Ino said, exiting the clinic, Kiba a step or two behind her. She realized that he was walking beside her, and looked up at him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm walking you out, what does it look like I'm doing? Am I not allowed to be gentlemanly?"

"I wouldn't have expected it from you, Kiba," Ino remarked, giving him a glance up and down.

"I assure you, Yamanaka, I can be a gentleman when I need to be." he replied, stopping at the gate of the compound and waving goodbye. She crossed the threshold and carried on towards home, shivering slightly and surprising herself by wishing she never gave up Kiba's jacket. Shaking her head, she mentally slapped herself for thinking such a thing.

Nearing her home, she noticed Shikamaru and Choji walking together down the street. Panicking slightly, she ducked into an alley across the street from her home and hid until she heard them walking past.

"It's a shame Ino wasn't home," she overheard Choji say. "I haven't seen her in a week! We used to spend everyday together, y'know?"

"Yeah, Choji, I know... Just give her some time, I'm sure she'll come around. Losing her dad was really hard for her." Shikamaru's voice echoed through the alley she hid in.

"Yeah but you lost your dad too..." Choji said, as if he did not know what he meant to say. Shikamaru understood Choji's intention, however, and merely replied, "I'm not a troublesome woman, though."

After that, Ino couldn't hear their conversation anymore. Slumping down to a seated position from where she hid, she started to sob softly, the guilt overwhelming her. Her mom, her teammates, she'd been avoiding them all lately. Even just now, Ino couldn't bring herself to run into them on the street.

Shakily wiping her eyes, she picked up Hana's order form from the ground and stood, heading towards her home. Composing herself, she entered the living room, looking for her mother.

"Dammit!" the blonde muttered bitterly, realizing her mother had already gone to bed, probably giving up on Ino coming home to talk to her. Resignedly, she set the order form on the breakfast table where she knew her mother would see it in the morning and went upstairs to go to bed.

Normally, she would toss and turn before begrudgingly turning her lamp on and grabbing a book that would eventually lull her into sleep for 3 or 4 hours. However, tonight her tiredness must have caught up with her, as she fell asleep rather quickly, still in her training clothes.

* * *

A/N: Aaaaaand that's a wrap. I'm soooooo sorry for taking so long, but my school work and the AP Euro test and finals and all sorts of senior year stuff got in the way. Oh well, enough of my excuses, it's here, read, review, enjoy!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Howdy doodly! I've been watching Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood recently, and I had to take a break from watching it due to my cottage's shitty wifi so I started working on my story updates. If you happen to read my Legend of Korra fic Heartbeat, that may not be updated until the new episodes give me a bit of inspiration, but don't worry, I'll get to it. Continuing!

Infinite Katalyst: Gracias, mi amor.

kally-kal: It's a real shame Inoichi and Shikaku died... :/ But I'm ever so pleased you enjoyed the KibaIno!

assiar: Ahh! Thank you! You really think it's a clean writing style?! *flies over the moon on a rainbow chariot*

nerdswagger62: Thanks! Have an update!

im-a-tumor: I'm glad I could give you a fix! Just call me Dr. Feelgood.

bobmarafan: Neither can I! Oh wait, here it is!

varun dhawan: I do understand the difficulties of mobile, but hey I'm always down for a long ass review! Thanks for your kind words!

* * *

Ino awoke feeleling somewhat refreshed for the first time she could remember in a while. Sure, she still was wearing her stinky training clothes, but what was the harm in that?

After taking a shower just the way she liked it, piping hot, she dressed herself in her normal purple fare and sat at her vanity brushing out her long hair until it was knot-free and flowing. Her morning routine gave her pleasure, it was one of the few times of the day where her thoughts didn't tend to bog her down. A knock on her bedroom door suddenly echoed into the room, and Ino found herself saying "Come in," without paying it much thought.

Her mother entered, holding the slip of paper that Hana had given, no doubt having found it on the breakfast table. "What's this, dear?"

Ino set her brush down on the vanity, and starting pulling her hair up into a ponytail. "Hana Inuzuka, the veterinarian, asked if we could start making medicine for them. Kiba came into the shop yesterday and I made some because the herb shop was closed."

"Is he the boy that gave you his jacket?" her mother asked, raising an eyebrow. Ino rolled her eyes. "It was raining mom, and I gave it back."

"That's what you were doing last night?"

"And immediately after Hana placed the order for her clinic. I thought you'd be happy to have a new client." Ino said somewhat worried, she didn't want to let the Inuzuka down.

"I am, dear, I just expected any new clients we would take on would order flowers." Mrs. Yamanaka said, sitting down on Ino's bed. Her daughter turned around on her vanity stool to face her. "Don't worry, Mom, wedding season is coming, and Tsunade's been an eager beaver at encouraging young people to get hitched."

"You know, your father was never exactly fond of that woman, Tsume."

Ino paused a minute, wondering what her mother was trying to say. "You mean Hana and Kiba's mom?" The older Yamanaka woman nodded. "She's very...rambunctious."

Ino stood and grabbed her bag from the foot of her bed. "Well, I have a hospital shift to get to, but I'll let the Inuzuka know we can fill their order. Bye, Mom."

With that, Ino left the bedroom, her mother still sitting on the bed somewhat surprised.

* * *

A couple weeks had passed since Ino took Hana on as a client, and thus Kiba would come around to the shop every few days to pick up the order. Sometimes he would come early and talk her ear off as she finished some of the medicine, and other times he would merely exchange a few words before departing, but it was always him that came without fail.

It was another pick-up day, and Ino was at work creating a bouquet, glancing up at the door every now and again to see if Kiba had arrived yet. She begrudgingly admitted to herself that she was beginning to enjoy his visits, but didn't dwell on it as she sensed a familiar chakra and heard the desk bell ring.

"One second, Kiba," she said as she whirled around to face him, but came face to face with Shikamaru instead. "Oh, I'm sorry, Shikamaru."

"Why were you expecting Kiba? He doesn't seem the type to frequent a place like this." the lazy Nara man said, an eyebrow raised. Ino blushed, hoping her teammate didn't get the wrong idea.

"He picks up medicine for his sister's veterinary clinic is all! How can I help you?"

Shikamaru reached to pull out his pack of cigarettes, but stopped noticing Ino's glare, sighed and murmured something about troublesome flowers. "I didn't want to have to corner you at work like this, but Choji and I have been wondering where you've been lately. I talked to Sakura and she said you only seem to be at the hospital, here, or on the training grounds, and that she even caught you sleeping in the staff lounge once even though you hate when people do that."

"That traitorous forehead..." Ino murmured angrily, not meeting Shikamaru's gaze. She thought back to when she avoided them in the alley, and felt a few pangs of guilt.

"Don't blame her, she's just concerned. I know your Dad's death has been hard on you, I feel the same way, but avoiding everyone you used to associate with isn't going to make it better."

"I haven't been avoiding anyone, I've been busy! I work three jobs whereas you spend most of your time on your lazy ass watching clouds and daydreaming about your girlfriend!"

At that moment, Kiba had finally arrived, and immediately noticed the tense atmosphere between Ino and Shikamaru. "We're just worried you're overextending yourself, Ino."

Ino didn't respond to him and turned to face Kiba, who had approached the other two, a concerned look on his face. "Hi, Kiba. I have your sister's order all ready for you. I just need to bag it up."

"Thanks, Ino. What's going on here?" Kiba asked as Ino started bagging up all medicine she had made with a huff.

"Choji and I are worried she's overworking herself." Shikamaru replied, his hands in his pockets. Kiba waved doubtfully at that. "She's a big girl, Shikamaru, let her be."

Ino grinned appreciatively as she set the bag on the counter. "Thank you, Kiba."

Shikamaru sighed at the stubborn girl and turned to leave, pulling out a cigarette. "I guess my time was wasted here then. Bye, Ino."

After the lazy genius left, Kiba put his hands on the desk and looked at her seriously. "Y'know, he could've been less of a dick about it, but he has a point. Sometimes I come in here and you look tired as hell."

Ino frowned at him noticing that, and refused to meet him in the eye. "Like I said, I have 3 jobs."

"Well, I'm sure they don't need as many doctors hanging around since everyone's starting to heal up after the war. You could drop some hospital shifts, let yourself have some free time to relax or do yoga or something, I dunno what you like."

"Everyone seems to have ideas on how my life should go, huh?" Ino asked angrily, jotting down Kiba's sale in the shop ledger. "Am I so incapable that people worry about my ability to work?"

"Honestly, I think Shikamaru and Choji just miss you. We all know you're plenty capable anyway, we saw during the war."

"Well I'm sorry I've been kinda busy, people needed healing, the healing people receive flowers as gifts, and I need to maintain myself to go on missions since people are healing and can't go themselves. Blame the war, not me."

"Well if you're worried about training in case you're called on a mission, I'll make you a deal. Drop a shift or two a week, the hospital, here, I don't care which, and I'll train with you. That way you get a harder training session but more free time to relax too." Kiba offered, leaning on the desk nonchalantly.

"What makes you think I couldn't train with Shikamaru or Choji?" Ino asked, considering his offer, weighing options in her head.

"You could, but you're used to them. You've never trained with me. It'll benefit both of us."

"I see your point, but a couple of things first. If I agree, you can't use Akamaru, at least not at first. And second, why are you even doing this?" she questioned, starting to arrange the bouquet again, but meeting his eyes every so often. He grinned toothily, making her feel a flutter of heat on her cheeks. "Why not? It'll be fun."

"Ok," Ino conceded, breaking down. "I'll talk to the hospital director."

"Great! Lemme know when you're available and we can arrange to have a training ground."

"Ino dear!," came the call of Ino's mother, interrupting their conversation. "You'll never guess who I bumped into on the street."

"Was it Shikamaru, perhaps?" the blonde asked, as her mother approached the desk, eyeing Kiba as he leaned on it.

"Yes! How did you know? Anyway, I invited him and Choji over for dinner later, it has been so long since I've seen those boys." Mrs. Yamanaka said, her back to them now as she emptied the bag of mulch she'd been carrying into a bin.

"Ok, well I'm going to go train with Kiba first," Ino responded coolly as she took off her apron, hung it up and smirked at Kiba's shocked face as he followed the exchange between mother and daughter.

"Oh..alright honey. Just be back in time to wash up before dinner."

Exiting the shop onto the bustling street, Ino saw Akamaru waiting dutifully for Kiba, wagging his tail as he saw his master approaching. The Inuzuka looked down at Ino, causing her to notice he'd gotten a bit taller. "What was that for?"

"After hearing that I'd have to see Shikamaru again today, I felt like punching something. Your face seemed like a good option."

"You think you'll be able to even lay a finger on me? I'm fast y'know," Kiba said boastfully, wagging his right index finger in her face as he used his left hand to balance his bag of medicine. Ino rolled her eyes. "So am I, you have to be when your teammates are lazy and large. Where are we headed?"

"Gotta drop of these potions and witchcraft of yours to Hana." he said, leading the way down the street towards his home.

"Witchcraft?! You live in a ninja village and you think me smashing up herbs is witchcraft?" Ino asked incredulously to which he shrugged in response. "You never can tell with these sorts of things, Ino. One second its a nasty tasting herb and by the time you're done playing with it, it's a fragrant ointment. Witchcraft."

"You're a bigger idiot than I thought!"

"Relax, Yamanaka, I'm goofing on ya. Let your hair down a bit." Kiba laughed, giving her a glance.

"If I did that I'm pretty sure Akamaru would step on it," she huffed.

"Its that long, huh? Back in the academy I always wanted to play with it."

She blushed. "If you were ever in class.."

"Sorry, Ms. Top Student, but I still passed. Hell, even Shikamaru passed and he didn't do shit." Kiba said, as they arrived at the Inuzuka compound. He hefted the bag of medicine up, and looked at her, gesturing for her to stay put. "Wait here a sec, I'm going to drop this and Akamaru off real quick and then the training can begin."

* * *

A/N: I'm on a roll guys, I really, truly am! I'm ever so pleased with how this chapter turned out, so please, be kind, leave a review, it only take a minute! Tell me what you like, what you didn't like, etc. It really motivates me.

Anyway, later gators!

MyHikari


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I'm back precious baby angels with Big Update Time since it's almost my birthday, and I have KibaIno tidings for you! Yay! Thanks a million to every single reviewer, faver, and follower! You guys are the best! Be sure to check out my new story The Gateway Alchemist is you happen to like the Fullmetal Alchemist series also!

Infinite Katalyst: Kiba's presence seems to be amongst the ones Ino finds preferable.

koolkidSwaggy: Aww thanks, darlingheart.

kally-kal: Well, I'm certainly glad you found it all suitable! :3

DarkMoon2017: Aww thank you! Good luck with your fic!

FruitySmell: Your suggestion has been noted, thank you!

Gerren: I've noticed that too, and I try to avoid making him like that.

im-a-tumor: Mama Yamanaka is certainly concerned! I'm glad I got to fix your withdrawal, and btw, I finished FMAB and i'm fairly certain my heart &amp; soul belongs to it now, I won't shut up about it to my poor boyfriend.

* * *

Ino smirked, finding herself sitting on Kiba's back, her hands holding his arm back and her foot holding his head down. They had been sparring for a while now, and the sky was starting to become orange with sunset.

"Ok, you can let me go now!" Kiba whined, his arm hurting from being pulled being him. She let go and stood up, offering a hand to hoist him up.

"Ready to go again? I think we have a little time before I have to get home for dinner," Ino said, wiping her forehead with a little towel and looking to Kiba, who was streching his sore shoulder.

"Yeah, hold on. Damn, you're more flexible than I remember," he muttered. "This is the second time you've taken me down with that weird pretzel body of yours."

"Hey, don't worry Kiba, you might tie with me. Or you'll lose magnificently. Either way."

"Yeah, yeah that's enough talk already." Kiba replied, before jumping forward with a kick that Ino swiftly dodged with a backflip. He continued for her throwing a punch right, before feinting to the left. She connected her foot to his abdomen, still getting hit but sending him back nontheless.

"You hit my boob, asshat." Ino said before sending another kick upwards, and getting her foot grabbed and being pulled to the ground.

"Sorry, didn't mean to," Kiba said sounding decidedly not sorry in Ino's book, before being tripped by her and being sent to the ground himself with a hard thud. Ino attempted to get up, but Kiba pounced, landing on her back. "Gotcha."

"That was a cheap win, Inuzuka."

"Don't pretend you aren't tired too, Ino. Come on, let's get you home," he said, getting off of her back and offering a hand like she had for him. Both were sweaty and could probably use showers.

"Uh, I have dirt all over my face from that faceplant. Bet I'll have bruises in the morning too," Ino said, starting to walk in the direction of her home. Kiba shrugged and started walking with her, carrying his jacket, long since removed, over his shoulder.

"Haven't trained pure taijutsu like that in a while, I'll sure be sore in the morning," Kiba mused, running his free hand through his sweaty hair.

"At least it's me and not Lee," the Yamanaka offered, both shivering a little at the thought of going toe to toe with a taijutsu expert like him.

"Usually I spar with Naruto, when he isn't out and about. Lemme tell you, he has energy for days."

"Yeah, if I want good taijutsu practice I have to see Sakura, it isn't exactly Choji or Shikamaru's forte."

"So why aren't you looking forward to seeing them tonight? I mean, other than Shikamaru ambushing you at the flower shop earlier." Kiba said, looking to her. She shrugged halfheartedly.

"I feel like they're gonna guilt me for being too busy to hang out with them," she confessed, looking at her feet as they walked down the road.

"Hey look at the bright side, with all the work you're doing, you're probably raking in the dough."

"Sorta, but I work for almost nothing at the flower shop now to help the shop save money. It's been hard without my dad," she replied with another shrug.

"That's about the same for me at the clinic, if I get paid it's usually an afterthought. It's ok though, I like playing with the dogs, which Hana says is all I'm good for anyway." Kiba said, chuckling a bit.

"There hasn't really been many missions lately since the war ended. You gotta do what you gotta do."

The pair came upon Ino's house, able to hear Choji's loud cackle even from outside. Kiba smiled and put his hand up in a wave. "Enjoy your dinner!"

Rolling her eyes, she waved goodbye and stepped in the house before immediately being enveloped in a large hug from Choji.

"Ino! I've missed you!"

"I've...missed you too, Choji," Ino squeaked out, finding it hard to breathe.

"Ino darling, you're late. These boys have been waiting 10 minutes for you," her mother scolded, coming into the living room from setting the dinner table.

"Sorry mom, I got a little caught up in training with Kiba," she said, finally released from the embrace.

"Yeah, that's right, Shikamaru said you've been spending time with him." Choji noted as Shikamaru approached his teammates.

"I make medicine for his sister and he picks it up is all," Ino said, a little defensively.

"Kids, come to the table," the Yamanaka matriarch called, to which the three teammates followed suit.

"Boy, looks delicious, Mrs. Yamanaka!" Choji exclaimed, rubbing his hands together excitedly. Ino's mother smiled brightly.

"I made sure to make extra just for you, Choji!"

"Aww, you're the best!"

"Ahaha, it's no problem, dear," she replied, sitting down. "I feel like I haven't seen you boys since the funeral."

"I don't think you really have, actually." Shikamaru said, "Although, if I remember correctly, you moms have gotten together quite a bit."

"Your mothers are a welcomed support system," the matriarch replied, passing dishes amongst the three teens. "What have you two been up to?"

"Well, I've been training hard in case I'm called on a mission, and Shikamaru went to Suna once or twice, but other than that we haven't really been up to much." Choji said, his mouth stuffed with food. "We feel bad, because Ino's so busy we haven't really been able to see her."

"Yes, Ino does seem too busy to spend much time at home as well," Ino's mother said with a pointed look towards her daughter, who remained silent. "What were you doing in Suna, Shikamaru?"

"Diplomatic work mostly," the Nara said, not really wanting to elaborate.

"I'm sure you spent a fair amount of time with your girlfriend too," Ino said, before taking a bite of food. She was still upset he ambushed her at work.

"You know, you're lucky Ino, you get to see Kiba more than I see Temari, even with your busy schedule."

Ino glared at Shikamaru, and Choji looked worriedly between the two. However, Ino's mother only had eyes for her daughter.

"Ino, are you...seeing that boy?"

"And what if I was?" Ino asked her, expecting a dramatic reaction.

"Answer me, young lady."

"For your information, I'm not, mother."

Shikamaru and Choji remained silent, as Ino and her mother had a staredown. Finally, the elder Yamanaka put her fork down and interlaced her fingers seriously, amazing the boys at how comfortable she was having them witness the discussion.

"I'm starting to think you aren't working as much as you say you are. You've been pretty suspicious ever since the end of the war, I bet you're just sneaking off to see that boy."

"Mrs. Yamanaka, I may not be sure of the nature of Ino and Kiba's relationship, but I can assure you that she has been working at the hospital. Sakura has mentioned that she practically lives there," Shikamaru said, trying to dissipate the situation, deducing Kiba had been a source of tension, even if an unspoken one.

"She's almost never home," Ino's mother said, on the verge of tears.

"I'm sorry for that, but as I've had to explain to you all several times, I've been pulled into many different jobs. I'm going to cut back on my hours at the hospital, but until more missions start getting assigned, there's nothing I can really do. I'm not going to sit idle and not use my skills," Ino said, refusing to look any of them in the eye.

The rest of dinner passed in mostly silence, save for several attempts by Choji to get the conversation going.

Afterwards, Ino waved goodbye half-heartedly to her teammates and thumped up the stairs to take a shower. She had to get up in the morning to go to the hospital.

Examining the bruises on her body, Ino washed away the grime and sweat, feeling somewhat refreshed. Then again, she had just sat through a dinner from hell, and didn't have the guts to face her mother.

"Damn Shikamaru," she grumbled, as she shampooed and conditioned her hair. "He had to go and say something."

She didn't know how to explain her weird new friendship with Kiba, but she did know she didn't want people making assumptions because of it. Admittedly, Kiba was quite attractive, and she supposed she could fall for him given enough time, but that didn't mean she would shirk all of her responsibilities at the drop of a hat.

She also sensed that her mother had something against him, and judged him whenever he entered their shop or came up in conversation.

After drying herself and getting into pajamas, she looked into the mirror at herself as she braided her long hair. "They need to give me some credit."

With a final sigh, she opened the door, and saw her mother standing there as if she had been listening at the door. Walking around her, Ino headed to her own bedroom, muttering "Bathroom's open."

Her mother looked pained, but Ino shut her bedroom door and sat on her bed sadly, tears streaming down her face. Why did everyone always have to make her feel so guilty?

* * *

A/N: Yay! Chapter 4! I hope you lovebugs enjoyed it, and I hope you check out my new fic. I'm so excited like you don't even know! I had Big Update Time because my birthday's so close, and I'm going on vacation soon, so I figured that you guys should be rewarded too!

You guys really are the cooliest, and I hope you post a nice review telling me all your thoughts about the chapter.

MyHikari


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Is this chapter 5?! Chapter 5 already?! Oh lordie, that crept up on me! I wish I could've had this out sooner for you guys but college has started for me and I was having an adjustment of sorts, and also I've been rewatching the entire Naruto series from the beginning. Oh nostalgia... I've watched 126 episodes so far, and it's such a brain warp to see all the kids as they were before shit started happening to them, especially pre-Orochimaru Sasuke. Sheesh. IT DOESN'T HELP THAT NARUTO IS ENDING IN 5 CHAPTERS EITHER. *cries*

Anyhow, I've rambled enough I guess, thank you to everyone who faved, followed and reviewed!

Infinite Katalyst: Yeah, it has been a tough time for Ino and her mother, with Inoichi dying and all that jazz.

kally-kal: No problem, dear!

DarkMoon2017: Sorry I had to keep you waiting... Life just, gets in the way sometimes, y'know? And also it's tough to balance 4 stories at once, what was I thinking?!

koolkidSwaggy: I agree, Kiba is awesome. And thank you!

* * *

"Oh my gosh, Ino, are you and Kiba sleeping together?" Sakura hissed, noticing a bruise on Ino as her sleeve happened to hitch upwards. Ino looked around the restaurant they were eating lunch in, and then leaned in towards her best friend.

"Sakura, no! It was just from a sparring session, jeez! What gave you the idea of it being Kiba anyhow?"

The pink-haired woman chuckled at her friend's panic. "I was just joking with you, Ino. And as for where I got the idea of Kiba, Naruto heard that you two have been spending time together and asked me if I knew anything."

The Yamanaka rolled her eyes, it was already spreading around the friend group. "It was probably from Shikamaru or Choji, I imagine."

"So if you aren't hooking up, what's the story with that? You guys were nearly never friendly," Sakura remarked, taking a bite of salad.

"I make medicine for his sister, and he picks it up from the flower shop," Ino replied smoothly, neglecting to mention what had happened at the funeral. Nobody got to know about that.

"And the sparring?"

"That happened for the first time the other day."

Sakura chuckled again, her eyes sparkling with the information. "Do you remember that time you two got into a fight when you were like, 8?"

"A fight when we were 8? I don't remember anything like that," Ino said, confused. Had that actually happened?

"I swear it happened, Ino. Kiba said something rude, although I can't quite remember what, it was 10 years ago, and you actually pounced on him in the schoolyard. Iruka-sensei broke it up and everything."

"That's weird," Ino began, "You'd think I would remember something like that."

"Hey it's not a big deal, it was ten years ago. I don't remember everything that happened ten years ago," Sakura said, shrugging. "All I know is that you guys roughed each other up, and Iruka-sensei had a conference with your parents."

"Maybe I should ask him about it?" Ino pondered, starting to remember what happened a little. Time had made the details fuzzy, however.

"Maybe, but our break is almost over, so we should probably start heading back to the hospital," Sakura replied, looking at her watch, before digging in her bag for money to the pay the lunch bill with. Ino started pulling out money too, in order to pay her half of it. "I'm glad we did this, Ino. I haven't really seen you lately."

All Ino could do was nod in agreement, the guilt eating at her again.

* * *

On the next scheduled day for Kiba to pick up medicine, Ino purposely did not not have it bagged already to go. With her mom's suspicion looming over her, she wanted time to talk with him, without her mother thinking she was shirking on the job.

He strolled in about the same time as always, and leaned against the desk as he always did. "Hey, blondie."

"Sorry, I don't have it bagged already, but I'll put it all together now. Busy morning!" Ino said, smiling in greeting and giving a little wave of her hand.

Kiba blinked at her chipper tone, but nodded. "I was thinking we should train again soon, I could use it. Heard a rumor more missions might start coming out."

"Sounds great," she chirped working up the nerve to ask her silly question, as she began to gather everything. She had made a point to be as unprepared as possible to allow time to talk.

Coming back to the desk with some of Hana's order, Ino looked at him. "Um, do you remember us having some sort of fight when we were 8? Sakura mentioned it the other day, but I couldn't really remember it, so I was wondering if you knew what happened?"

Kiba seemed somewhat surprised. "You don't remember that? For whatever reason we'd been bickering that day in school, and then I said something that made you mad and we had a bit of a scuffle."

"That's what Sakura said. Do you know what you said?"

The Inuzuka shrugged. "Probably dumb kid shit. You actually bit me, and I remember that I tore up your clothes and gave you some cuts or something. Your mom was livid."

"That was at the conference with Iruka-sensei?"

"Yeah, my mom and your parents were there, and our moms were yellling at each other and your dad took us out of the room so we wouldn't hear it. We didn't go to school for the rest of the day after that either."

"Wow, I can't believe I forgot all that. Sounds eventful," Ino said, a little surprised and temporarily forgetting about the medicine.

"Eh, it's not like it mattered after all that. We kinda stayed away from each other mostly, until we were in the rookie nine."

"Well maybe we would have seen more of each other if you weren't always cutting class," Ino teased, an amused glint in her eye, as she returned to bagging all the products she'd made for the veterinary clinic.

"I'm still a great ninja, aren't I?" Kiba retorted, grinning widely as he played along with her teasing.

"There's always room for improvement, Kiba."

"You say that as if you could take me in a serious fight!"

"Are you saying I can't take you in a serious fight?" the blonde asked, looking up at him, an eyebrow raised dangerously, challenging him to continue his train of thought.

"When Akamaru and I work together we really get wild, Ino. It may be too much for you," he replied, with mock concern and a shrug. She rolled her eyes at his baiting, knowing he was trying to get a rise out of her.

"Maybe I'll just have to go and bite you again, or scar you up a bit so you don't forget I kicked your ass."

"I have enough scars thanks, and one of them is from when I was trying to help bring back your precious Sasuke," he replied, lifting his shirt up slightly to show her one on his muscled abdomen. "A freak named Ukon merged with my body so I stabbed myself to get him out."

"Anyway, here's your sister's order," Ino said, cutting of his story and sliding the large paper bag towards him. He dug the payment envelope out of his jacket and tossed it at her, hefting up the bag. Instead of leaving the shop, however, he followed her as she headed to water the plants with a squirt bottle. "What are you doing?" she asked, staring. He was deviating from the routine.

"I wasn't finished with my story. So there I was, fighting this two headed freak guy, and Akamaru and I ripped him apart with our Wolf Fang Over Fang, and then it turns out the two heads are brothers and one of them, that Ukon guy, can stick any body part out of his brother's body..."

Ino paused for a second, and cut Kiba off for the second time. "Wait, _any_ body part?"

"That's what he said," the Inuzuka replied, an eyebrow raised at the apparent hilarity of it. Confused, he opened his mouth to ask, before it dawned on him. The blonde watched his expression change from confusion to horror and burst out in laughter.

"You're disgusting, Yamanaka," he exclaimed, as she kept laughing and laughing. "That was a serious battle that ended up with Akamaru being injured, and you're practically sobbing!"

"I'm sorry," she choked out, wiping her eyes. "It was just too weird not to laugh."

With a low growl he dropped the bag he was holding, grabbed her squirt bottle and sprayed her in the face with some water. Ino blinked in surprise, before angrily wiping her face and grabbing back the bottle, aiming it at his face.

"Any last words?"

"Yeah, your makeup's running," Kiba replied, before dashing out of the store to where Akamaru was patiently waiting outside. Ino followed to the doorway, watching him run and laugh down the street, shaking her head amusedly.

"He forgot the medicine, that idiot."

An "ahem" behind her brought her out of daze, and Ino turned to see her mother and the pregnant employee Jun standing there. The matriarch looked displeased, and crossed her arms.

"When I let you take over the shop for the afternoon so I could take Jun to the doctor, I didn't think you would use that time to fool around, Ino."

"Mother, I wasn't fooling around. I made 4 sales while you were gone, including the Inuzuka's order," Ino said, heading back into the shop, with her mother and the girl on her heels.

"Are you sure? Your face is a mess, and so is your hair. You don't use that medicine as an excuse to see that boy, do you?"

Ino sighed, putting her hands on her hips. "It is not like that. What is your problem with him anyway?"

"My problem is that he's from a clan of uncivilized brutes, who won't hesitate to hurt you at the slightest provocation!"

"Is this about the fight when we were 8?!" the younger Yamanaka asked, incredulous. Mrs. Yamanaka merely made a sour face in response, as Jun looked nervously between the mother and daughter, quietly trying to get their attention, her murmurs lost on them.

"Mom, we were 8 years old and nobody was seriously hurt, what is the big deal? Is this honestly where all this stems from?" Ino demanded, brushing off Jun's hand on her shoulder.

"I..Ino-chan..." Jun tried once more, but Ino once again brushed her hand away, a steady glare at her mother.

"I can't believe you forgot what happened, Ino. What he said, what _that_ woman Tsume planted in him."

"You're holding a grudge over something somebody said when they were 8 years old, that's absurd!"

"Ino-chan!"

"What is it, Jun?!" the kunoichi finally exclaimed, a little more harshly than she would have under normal circumstamces. Following the girl's line of sight to the door, she turned to see Kiba leaning against the doorway, arms crossed, presumably having heard the whole conversation when he came back for the medicine he forgot. "...Kiba."

"Don't let me interrupt, blondie," he growled. "Go ahead and remind me, Mrs. Yamanaka, what did I say exactly?"

* * *

A/N: Welp, that took a turn...

I'll admit this chapter was so hard to write. I had no idea what to do, and I'm so sorry for the wait. Life, writer's block, intense childhood nostalgia, they all get in the way from time to time.

Anyway, as always, please leave a review! I looooove reading them and I loooooove you guys!

Til next time!

MyHikari


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

A/N: What's up dearhearts? I have a brief respite between finals here and so I thought I would finally update this, gosh I feel terrible. So that Naruto ending huh? Pretty horrible if I do say so myself! I'm hella, hella salty about it, but I'm not going to abandon my ships just because of it. As far as I'm concerned, chapter 700 never happened... 0.0

kally-kal: Intense was what I was aiming for, lol.

koolkidSwaggy: Never fear, your answer is here!

Infinite Katalyst: It must be very awkward for Jun, lol, but she gets the fly on the wall view of the entire ordeal.

DarkMoon2017: Thank you thank you!

* * *

"Ino-chan!"

"What is it, Jun?!" the kunoichi finally said, exasperated, a little more harshly than she would have under normal circumstamces. Following the girl's line of sight to the door, she turned to see Kiba leaning against the doorway, arms crossed, presumably having heard the whole conversation when he came back for the medicine he forgot. "...Kiba."

"Don't let me interrupt, blondie," he growled. "Go ahead and remind me, Mrs. Yamanaka, what did I say exactly?"

The matriarch narrowed her eyes, glaring at him. "Are you saying you don't remember?"

"Do you honestly think I would be asking if I did?"

With a drawn out sigh, Ino's mother crossed her arms and faced her daughter. "You probably know that the young Inuzuka here lost his father at a young age. What you probably don't know is that Inoichi was partnered with his father on that particular mission. While the Ino-Shika-Cho combination is a tradition passed through the clans for generations and is quite lethal, for certain missions the combination of an Inuzuka and a Yamanaka can be quite effective for tracking and obtaining information. Such is the mission your fathers were assigned."

Heart thundering, Ino could feel a pool of dread gathering in her stomach, wondering what possibly could have happened to cause her mother to harbor so much hatred.

"Something went wrong," her mother finally continued. "Inoichi had preformed the Mind-Body Switch, and his soul was not in his body. It was Kiba's father's job to protect him at that time, but the underlings of the target found them and proceded to simultaneously try to attack Kiba's father and Inoichi's body. Noticing an attack headed straight for Inoichi, Kiba's father blocked it with his body, tearing a hole through his chest. Inoichi came to just in time to see it happen. He brought the body home, and when he apologised to Tsume...she blamed him. For not being aware of what was happening, despite being in the body of the man in charge, and not coming to help in time. Her contempt was so deplorable, the Hokage had to reprimand her."

Ino felt the tears running down her face, but did not move to wipe them. Jun looked around awkwardly, finally starting to resume watering the plants so as to not have to witness the exchange. Kiba remained by the door, merely listening, his knuckles nearly white with how tightly he held them fisted.

"Her contempt for us spread to young Kiba it would seem, as less than a year afterwards, taijutsu training had started in the Academy and you two were picked as opponents. In the midst of the usual trash talk, Kiba made remarks along the lines of 'I won't lose to you, your dad let my dad die' and 'Maybe one day you'll know how it feels.' You had no idea what he meant by this, as we had never told you, and suddenly your spar became somewhat more brutal, as he started to actually try to injure you, and in your self defense, you were attempting the same. Iruka-sensei needed to break it up and called us."

Ino remained silent, sneaking a peek to Kiba at the door, and noticing how tense and angry he appeared. Ino's mother merely continued, "So you see Ino, the reason I am distrustful of your friend here, is that I know at some point he will lose his temper and lash out, as the Inuzuka are known to do, especially Tsume."

Moving to say something to him, Ino turned towards the door, seeing him simply leave, with no outburst, no yelling and no lashing out, so unlike him. She helplessly croaked his name once, trying to call him back, trying to get him to talk to her about this development but her mother pulled her into an embrace, stroking her hair.

"Ino darling, I'm so sorry about this. I tried to warn you. I know it must hurt," she murmured softly, wiping at her daughter's tears.

The blonde nodded and pulled away, before heading towards the door. "I need some air."

Stepping out unto the street, she heard a howl of anger in the distance, coming from the training grounds. Walking in an unhurried pace, she headed there, a meloncholic aura following her around, and keeping people out of her way. She couldn't believe it. She didn't even totally know how she felt about the new information. She just wanted to go to Kiba and talk to him about it.

Coming upon the training ground, she saw the Inuzuka raging as he tore up the area, his keen senses not even picking up that she was there. He had taken off his jacket and shirt, and blood already dripped from his knuckles.

"Kiba," she spoke, stopping him in his tracks. He turned to her, his breath coming deep pants.

"What do you hate me now? Think I'm a monster for losing my cool when I was 8?"

"No," she admitted. He seemed somewhat surprised, but turned away, shaking his head.

"I don't think we should buy medicine from your shop anymore," he said quietly, holding a cloth to his knuckles. Ino approached him, taking his hands and beginning to heal the wounds on his hands.

"We should probably stop training together too," he spoke again, staring at her. She didn't meet his gaze, but felt tears pricking at her eyes. Cursing herself for being so emotional, especially around Kiba of all people, perhaps one of the most abrasive of her peers, she looked at his healed hands.

"Ino, are you ok?"

She let go of his hands and wrapped her own around herself protectively, feeling tears trickle down her face. "I don't know."

"Why aren't you mad at me?" he asked suddenly, after a quiet moment. She looked up at him, confused.

"What?"

Frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair, before clenching it angrily. "Damn it, Ino, why aren't you mad at me?!"

Not having an answer, she just stared, tears still flowing freely down her cheeks. He grabbed her arms, pulling her closer. "You should be! I really wanted you to feel how I felt back then and now look at you!"

"You were young and upset..."

"That's no justification! I have always been a dick to you, and now you decide to be forgiving?! This isn't like you."

"Why are you trying so hard to make me hate you?" Ino asked, meeting his eyes. He opened his mouth to respond, but she cut him off, her tone becoming sharp and angry. "You're trying to influence me while I don't know how to feel, when I'm trying to actually think about it, maybe? Or perhaps you feel you deserve the hate for some reason? Do you feel as if by saying something you didn't mean while emotionally charged at 8 years old you somehow caused my father's death in an unrelated war?"

He growled in frustration, refusing to back down, even if she had hit a nerve with her observation and knew it. "You think you can dissect me, huh? Do a little psychology experiment and discover the inner workings of my brain?"

Feeling his nails unintentionally dig in a little to his grip, she didn't waver in her stare, knowing it was driving him crazy. "You have urges to dominate, and my refusal to submit frustrates you. You would find it erotic if it weren't for the circumstances..."

He did not seem to react visibly to this analysis, although there was a flicker of something in his eyes. Suddenly, he leaned in closer, his breath against her ear. "I can do this too, y'know. You're upset at your mother for dwelling in the past, and can barely face your old friends. You can't stand the shroud of sadness that you get for being reminded of your dad, so you throw yourself into work, and you spend so much time with me because I'm new and different to you. Not too different, but still unrelated to anything pertaining to your father until now..."

He leaned back, having felt her shudder beneath his breath. "The only thing I can't figure out, is that now, confronted with a link to him, you still seem to want to be around me. Maybe it's attraction?"

"You think I'm attracted to you?" she asked, sounding more like a whimper than the scoff she was aiming for.

"Your scent suggests it," he replied taking a blatant whiff against her neck that might've repulsed her if he hadn't immediately put his lips against her skin afterwards. Instead, she shuddered once again, suddenly feeling very warm.

Kiba kissed his way up her neck, and as Ino felt herself move for his benefit, she realized this was technically submitting to him and his psychological warfare. Pulling back away from him as he reached her chin, she grabbed the back of his head and guided his lips to hers, enjoying the vibration of his growl against her mouth as they kissed. His hands let go of her arms, slowly wrapping against her waist, hers already wrapped around his bare chest.

Taking a breath after several minutes, he leaned his forehead against hers. "This is fucked up."

"I certainly wasn't expecting it to happen..." she muttered.

"Your mother will hate it."

Ino could only shrug in response, not quite sure what any of this really meant. The day had been long and emotional, and she merely laid her head against his chest, enjoying the warmth.

"So what about everything I said? Aren't you upset about that?"

"Do we really have to go over this again?" she asked, exasperated. "I don't really care, you were young and you didn't mean it."

"I meant it at the time. I mean, sure, I got over it pretty quickly after your dad talked to me about it..."

"Wait, what?" Her head shot off of his chest, and she looked at him confusedly.

"When my mom and your mom were arguing with each other at school that day, your dad took us out of the room. He apologised to me and explained everything that happened. I was still really mad at him, but after a little while we started learning how lethal it could be to be a ninja and stuff like the Uchiha Massacre happened, and I stopped blaming your dad. It didn't make me feel less sad about losing him, but I didn't try to blame anyone but his killers for it anymore."

"Why didn't you say that when my mother was telling the story?!"

"I was too angry, I needed to get away. Besides, even if it was unrelated I did feel somewhat guilty in that moment."

"Its not your fault, Kiba," she whispered. "Its not even mine, and it has taken me a long time to be able to admit that."

"You're being unusually rational."

"All I have to do now is figure out how to smuggle you the medicine you've forgotten twice already. I'm sure Hana is wondering where it is "

"Aw shit, I forgot all about that!" he exclaimed, causing Ino to chuckle.

* * *

A/N: Alright, that's it. You have no idea how difficult this was to write, and I'm still not quite satisfied with it. I'm sorry of it's shorter than usual, I just had so much to do between finals and work and all that jazz. Growing up sucks, I don't recommend it. Anyhoo, I hope you enjoyed, go ahead and leave a lil review telling me what you think. *sigh*

Now I have to work up the ability to complete my goals of Big Christmas Update Time.

MyHikari


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

A/N: Hey guys, I know it's been awhile, but have an update! I'm on a roll this week, I swear I'm so on top of my fic game, which is funny cuz this never happens. Welp. Enjoy it while it lasts. I hope you're all keeping warm in the snow, or staying cool in the sun, whichever really!

koolkidSwaggy: Yeah, thankfully my finals went ok.

InfKat: Yeah her mom will hate it, hehehe.

nerdswagger62: Aww, I'm glad to hear that!

Tsukinatte101: I'm glad you like the backstory, I was a little worried about that. And yeah, in my opinion, Chapter 700 just sucked spectacularly. So much character development slayed in just a couple chapters...*sigh*

**If you wanna set a KibaIno mood, I highly suggest the songs Howl and Bedroom Hymns, both by Florence + the Machine!**

* * *

Ino looked around the corner, using all her training to determine her mother wasn't around to see her. She hated having to sneak out of her own house, but she hated being subjected to her mother's interrogations even more. Growing up, her dad was the professional, and yet her mother still was fairly skilled at it too. Sometimes hiding things in a clan devoted to mind-related jutsu was quite difficult.

She couldn't help it though, she had simply felt a magnetic pull to be near Kiba these past few weeks, even if he tended to pop up at some rather inopportune times in the hospital. She rolled her eyes, thinking of his last visit.

_"Are you going to nurse me back to health?" he had asked suggestively, waggling his eyebrows and gestured to his sprained ankle._

_"Did you just go jumping off of things until you injured yourself?!" she had asked incredulously, trying to keep her voice low and civil, lest anyone heard._

_"Is that what it takes for you to talk to me in the hospital?"_

_Sakura had looked at her funny for a while after that, muttering about sexual tension, and that they should get it over with already. Ino mentally snorted to herself, he'd certainly tried._

She'd barely made it out of her house, before he'd wrapped an arm around her shoulder, leading her to the training ground where they would go. Ino blushed angrily, and glared up at him.

"What if my mom saw you? She'd flip her lid, Kiba..." she warned, though he didn't seem terribly concerned.

"What kind of ninja do you think I am?"

"I think you're desperate to see me, and it's clouding your judgement!"

"Hey, that only works when the love interest can't smell your pheromones. Good try, though."

Frustratedly, she crossed her arms, an annoyed look gracing her features. She hadn't really registered he'd stopped walking until his arm pulled her back. Hinata and Shino had seen them, and were approaching their direction.

"Why weren't you at training?" Shino asked, quite direct and to the point. The look on Kiba's face clearly showed he'd forgotten.

"Guess, I forgot, sorry guys."

"It's ok, Kiba," Hinata said, instantly forgiving him. "Are you and Ino together?"

Ino felt herself flush wildly, and Kiba did a little bit as well. "I suppose you could say that.."

They hadn't really talked about their relationship status, so both found the question somewhat awkward. Ino knew if it weren't for her mother, they'd probably be a lot more open to their friends about it, without the fear it would get back to her. But, she supposed, Hinata and Shino were both rather discreet people.

"I'm very happy for you, you make a good match," Hinata said, a small blush of her own dusting her cheeks. Shino appeared to have no reaction.

"Anyway, I'm sorry for missing training guys, but I'll see you at Mirai's party tomorrow. See ya!" Kiba spoke, somewhat quickly, somehow steering Ino away and waving to them at the same time.

"You'll be at Mirai-chan's party too?" Ino asked, when they had gotten some distance.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I? Kurenai is my sensei, afterall," Kiba responded, seeming surprised that she would be surprised.

"I just didn't think a baby party would be your kind of thing," she said with a shrug. A chuckle rang out at that.

"Puppies, babies, I like em all. I mean it'll be more fun when Mirai-chan can play and talk but she can't help that."

"Noted."

They had reached the training ground, but instead of getting ready to spar like she would normally, she sat down on a stump, looking thoughtful. Kiba looked at her questioningly.

"Kiba.." she began, quietly. "What are we?"

He approached her, wrapping his arms around her frame as he pulled her into a hug. "What do you want us to be?"

Pulling her off of the stump, he sat down against it and sat her on his lap. "I don't know," she whispered, as he trailed kisses down her neck, like she knew he liked to do. She couldn't help but shiver, feeling somewhat light-headed, especially when his hands began to explore her.

"I want us to be something," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close for a small kiss.

"We can be something, Ino," he said, resting his forehead against hers, and meeting her eyes. "But if you want that, you have to talk to your mom."

She wavered, resting her head against his shoulder. "I'm scared she won't accept it."

"Honestly, she doesn't have to. You're a big girl, and you can make your own choices."

"You're right," she conceded, sitting back up again, and looking at him. "But she'd be alone without me. I can't keep her from cutting ties with me, but I don't want to have to cut ties with her."

Seeing tears start to fall, Kiba wiped them away. "It's not like you need to tell her today, or tomorrow, but at some point, it'll be too hard to hide it from her."

"I know.."

He kissed her, trying to help rid her of her fears. "It's ok, you have me for support. I'm your something, after all."

"Well what kind of something would you be if you weren't?" she asked, her good mood starting to return. She was amazed. She was amazed to be with him of all people, happy in his arms, and having her breath stolen from her by his searing looks, kisses, touches and so on. She never would've thought it would be him as a little girl, convinced Sasuke was the path to happiness.

All the sadness she'd been holding onto was starting to slip away. She'd finaly cut back on some of her work hours and granted there were others she had to make amends with to really move out of her funk, but she could attend to that later. Shikamaru and Choji would be at Mirai's party she was sure, she could talk to them there and apologize for avoiding them for the past few months. The real problem was her mother. She didn't understand why, she knew her father would've been happy for her. He'd probably say something about flowers and blooming and adulthood. It would be just like him to do so.

"Hmm," she hummed, causing Kiba to stop peppering her with kisses again.

"What?"

"I just thought about my dad without feeling like crying. Progress, I think."

"Yeah, sounds like it," Kiba agreed, returning to her skin, and causing her to yelp with a small bite to her skin. "But thinking of your father while I'm trying to seduce you is admittedly a bit creepy."

"Oh shut up and take your clothes off," she commanded, crossing her arms in mock irritation at his slacking.

"Here? In the open like this?" he asked, with mock offence. He was making fun of her, she'd said the same thing in their first training ground liaison.

"It's more fun if you can get caught," she said, echoing his own words with a shrug. He nipped her again, this time on the lips, before complying to her demands.

And boy, did he _comply to those demands._ It brought tears to her eyes. She surely would be walking weird tomorrow at Mirai's party, she'd thought with woeful pleasure.

* * *

A/N: Hehehehehehe, well that was kinda short, I know, but I think what is most important is that I updated! What a weekend for me, updating all my stories! Maybe I should go write some more? A oneshot or soemething? I dunno, we'll see what happens. I may need some brain food. Also, can I just say, I feel like Hinata would be among one of their bigger supporters. I feel like she'd be so happy for him, cuz she's such a lil sweetheart. Shino is the secretly-happy-but-i'll-never-tell type, I think, lol.

Anyway, feel free to leave a review! I love to hear what you guys think! I think I'll be wrapping up the story in about three or so more chapters, so this is the best opportunity to say something while the story's still going!

With love,

MyHikari


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

A/N: Hey kiddos! Jeez, the KibaIno section is back to way it was it would seem...sort of dead. What a terrible tragedy! I blame Kishi. But really, who needs canon?

I'm real sorry about my random absence. College has been kicking my ass, plus I started a new job in February. Between the two, I almost never had time to write. To make it even worse, I got addicted to Fairy Tail, and I am now obsessed with that series so...

Anyhoo, I'm starting to wrap up this story now, I'm aiming for 10. I can't believe its almost over!

InfKat: Of course Hinata would be a supportive cutiepie, and surely Shino ships it more than he let's on.

koolkidSwaggy: Perhaps she would, but right now she rather dislikes him.

* * *

Ino smiled at her late sensei's young daughter, now 1 year old and balanced on her hip. The baby was actually sitting on some handprint shaped bruises, which were slightly painful for the kunoichi, but she continued to love on the child nontheless. Kiba rolled his eyes, hearing the squeaks and baby talk coming from the blonde. She'd made fun of him for the same thing earlier, and he was supposed to just sit there and let her be without saying a thing?

The answer was yes, according to Shikamaru. The lazy nin and Choji had cornered them as soon as they'd arrived to Kurenai's home for Mirai's birthday party. Kiba had been sort of expecting this reaction, but he hadn't exactly expected Ino to immediately break down in tears and apologize to them both profusely. He knew it'd been dwelling heavily in her mind, however, and supposed she just couldn't hold it in any longer.

_"I..I'm sorry guys. I guess I had been trying to keep myself busy so I wouldn't think about my Dad, but I also started avoiding everyone who reminded me of him too," she spluttered out, her face red and puffy as she brushed some tears from her aqua eyes._

_"Guess that explains Kiba..." Shikamaru had muttered, as if he'd spent time wondering what the appeal was. Kiba glared indignantly, knowing otherwise, but tried not to interrupt Ino, who continued with her apology._

_"It wasn't right for me to do that to you guys, especially when you were suffering too. I should've been there for you like you had tried to be for me. I'm sorry. Could you ever forgive me?"_

_Choji immediately swooped the blonde into a seemingly bone-crushing hug, while Shikamaru placed a hand on her shoulder._

_"You're already forgiven, Ino. Just try not to do it again. We're your friends so you should come to us when you're sad instead of hiding it inside," the Nara said matter-of factly. Ino gave a nod and a small smile before returning Choji's hug._

_Kiba started to look around for his own teammates, so as not to interrupt a touching moment for Team 10, but the males quickly turned their attention back to him before he could escape. He'd never found the two intimidating in the past, and he didn't now either, despite Choji's best efforts now._

_"We've been hearing some rumors about you and Ino, here," the Akimichi said, arms crossed._

_"Look, I know you guys are protective and all..." Kiba trailed off, looking for support from Ino, who to his horror, was across the room talking excitedly with Kurenai and Hinata. "But Ino is capable of making her own choices. I know you probably think I'm a huge dick, but I would never try to hurt her."_

_Shikamaru sighed, shaking his head. "We aren't trying to scare you, Kiba, we're trying to warn you. It seems like Ino's gonna be back to her usual self again before long...firstly, don't try to argue with her too much it will just end badly."_

_"Don't ever talk about her dietary habits, she'll either think you're saying she's fat or that she's a wimp."_

_"Don't make fun of her hobbies, because she'll make fun of yours...and you have plenty to make fun of, believe me."_

_"Don't step on her flower arrangements, she can be pretty obsessed about them being perfect."_

_"She's a health nut, so if you don't wanna get lectured, don't smoke around her."_

_"Shikamaru, I think you're the only one who smokes," Kiba pointed out, but was promptly cut off by Choji, who seemed to be enjoying himself far too much._

_"And she tells Sakura everrything, so I mean, if you're bad in the sack-"_

_"I'm pretty sure I have_ that_ covered, guys, besides, all the rest of this stuff is pretty standard Ino stuff. This isn't much of a warning," Kiba stated, stopping them in their tracks. Shikamaru whistled lowly._

_"He's in too deep."_

* * *

Ino looked to Kiba, smiling at him as she handled Mirai with ease. When she was tiny, he had always been afraid to touch her, preferring when she started to move on her own. He remembered Ino handling the little girl perfectly from the get-go, however, while even Hinata was somewhat shy about holding her.

"Could you hold her for me? Shikamaru and Choji's moms arrived, and I should probably go say hi," Ino said, standing and placing Mirai in his arms before he could even respond. The child's large eyes looked up at him expectantly, as if waiting for him to amuse her.

"You're admiring her skills with children," Shino murmured from his side, sitting by him quietly on the couch. "These things are natural to look for in a potential mate."

"What the fu...dge, Shino?" the Inuzuka questioned, careful not to use a bad word around the baby, whose fuzzy hair was tickling his chin. "Why would you just go around saying stuff like that? I have years before I gotta think about that stuff."

"I'm merely making an observation, Kiba. This was highly unexpected, and yet, I think she suits you."

"Thanks I guess," he mumbled, turning his attention to the wriggling Mirai. Kurenai had said she would probably start walking soon, and he was already looking forward to seeing Akamaru play with her. The huge dog was surprisingly gentle with her, not that he had ever interacted with her much. "Shino's weird, isn't he Mirai-chan?" he asked the baby, smirking as he saw the Aburame start to brood.

* * *

Across the room, Ino smiled as she greeted the mothers of Shikamaru and Choji. Her mother had not come, busy running the flower shop for the day.

"Hi, Mrs. Nara, Mrs. Akimichi! Haven't seen you guys in a while," Ino said, hugging the women she viewed as second and third mothers.

"It's quite alright, darling," Choji's mother said, nearly squishing the poor girl in a bear hug, and reminding the girl of her son. "You've been so busy lately, and have a new boyfriend to boot."

"The Inuzuka boy, right? You know, he always got into trouble with Shikamaru and Choji in school," Yoshino Nara mentioned thoughtfully, shifting a potted plant she intended to give to Kurenai to another hip. "We were asking your mother about him when we stopped by the shop to pick up these flowers, but your poor helper girl's water broke, and she had to take her to the hospital."

Ino felt her heart sink, hearing that they'd asked her mother about Kiba. "D..did she say anything about him before Junko started laboring?"

"Just that she suspected something was up," Mrs. Akimichi said, smirking at the girl. "Sorry to have outed you, Ino, but I'm sure everything will be fine. The real question is, how did Tsume react to meeting you?"

She froze. She hadn't even considered it. How would Tsume react to her? Had Kiba intentionally shifted focus away from his family?

"Uhh.." she started, grasping for some kind of excuse, without gaping like an idiot at them due to realization. "We've kinda kept it from both families...to see how things would work out..."

Yoshino's look became as sly as the Akimichi matriarch's. "Hey, it's ok Ino-chan. We remember what it's like to have romantic entanglements at this age. I have suspicions Shikamaru is doing the same thing with a kunoichi from Suna."

Ino snorted. If she only knew the half of it...

"And of course, I would have hoped to see you with my Choji, since he's such a catch, but hey, who am I to keep you seeing Tsume's boy if you like him so much!" Mrs. Akimichi added. "But hey, if it doesn't work out..."

"Ah, thanks, Mrs. Akimichi, but that'd kinda be like dating my own brother..."

"Just keep it in mind, dear."

Laughing shakily, she turned away from them, beginning to panic. They'd mentioned her relationship to her mother. Damn Shikamaru and Choji, after she'd made up with them too! Not to mention, there was the question of Tsume.

Having not one, but two mothers against them? Well that was quite stressful. Was it even worth being with him at that point? Watching him play with Mirai, she mentally smacked herself for even thinking such a thing. She'd been happy with him these past few weeks, feeling so drawn to him and his dumb smirk, on cloud nine when he touched her...

Sighing for finding her mind in the gutter, she knew she was in trouble. How had it taken her so long to figure out she was head over heels for him? Maybe more than that?

Shaking off a foreboding feeling, she felt reassurance in knowing her mother would probably be at Junko's side for the rest of the night. Ino hoped the girl was doing ok, and that the baby was fine. If she was brave enough, she'd go visit, but she wasn't.

"Ne, Ino-chan, are you doing alright?" the small voice of Hinata came, stirring her from her stupor. Ino turned to see the heiress holding two pieces of cake, offering one to her.

"Thanks, Hinata. And I'm ok," she replied, taking the piece of cake and hurriedly taking a bite, diet be damned. "I was just...wondering about things is all."

"I understand. It's easy to get lost in one's thoughts from time to time."

"Say, Hinata," Ino started, uncharacteristically shy. "What's Kiba's mom like?"

"Oh, Tsume-san? She's very nice, and very blunt. A lot like Kiba in that way," the girl explained. "I'm surprised you haven't met her yet, to be honest."

"Me too."

She'd been so focused on her own mother, she'd completely forgotten about his. Would she hate her for being Inoichi's daughter? Kiba was certainly in for an earful later, that was for damn sure.

Hana was nice, and was a client of the flower shop's. Certainly there wasn't _that much _bad blood between the two families?

Her head was starting to hurt, and she's run out of cake to use as an excuse not to talk. Hinata smiled delicately, and offered the blonde her own still untouched piece of cake.

"Ah no, I shouldn't, Hinata, that's yours."

"It's ok, I already had a piece. I was going to offer this one to Shino-kun, but he doesn't really enjoy sweets. Honestly, I expected Kiba-kun to swipe it from him."

"He would do that, wouldn't he? Dick."

The heiress blushed at her vulgar comment, but still held out the other piece to her, nonetheless. Ino sighed and took it, murmuring thanks and apologies all in one breath.

"I guess today will be a cheat day, huh?"

"I don't really think you need to diet that much, Ino-chan. You're in really good shape," Hinata admitted. "And you're really pretty too. Kiba-kun has always thought so, but he'd never admit it in the past."

The smirk grew on Ino's face before she could restrain it. "Really? That's news to me..."

"It's true," the dark haired girl murmured, the tiniest of mischievous glints in her eyes. "Anyway, I should be going. I have a mission to Sunagakure tomorrow and I promised Hanabi I would spar with her before I left. It's been nice talking with you, Ino-chan."

"The same to you. Is Shikamaru going with you tomorrow?"

The slight mischief in Hinata's pale eyes grew a fraction more. "Yes. I believe he wants to visit with Temari-san."

Waving goodbye and chuckling to herself, she saw Kiba approaching her from the corner of her eye.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, just Shikamaru's obvious crush on the Kazekage's sister. Where's Mirai-chan?" Ino answered, seeing that the child was no longer with him.

"Kurenai-sensei put her down for a nap. Can you believe that? The guest of honor napping during her own birthday party..." Kiba trailed off, finding it all rather silly.

"Hey, Kiba, I have a question for you," she began tentatively, looking at the half-eaten second piece of cake. He grabbed it from her, and started eating, answering with his mouth full.

"Yeah?"

"How come I haven't met your mom?"

Some of the cake spluttered out of his mouth as he began to couch a little. Finally swallowing down his strangely large bite, he looked at her. "Well, I was kind of afraid of all the same stuff happening with your mom. And I mean, she can smell a girly scent on me, but I never told her it was you. So she might know, but she might not."

Ino felt the panic begin to bubble even more, envisioning her mom and Tsume having a violent confrontation. This only served to aggravate her headache further, and she found herself frowning heavily.

"Hey, what's with the ugly face?!"

"What are we gonna do, Kiba? We can't just avoid both of our moms forever!"

"We'll have to talk to them, I guess. If they can't respect our wishes, then they can fuck off. We're adults, and we have nothing to do with their issues from the past."

"Actually, we do, but I suppose you're right...ish."

"Just relax," he murmured, grabbing her shoulders and rubbing them soothingly. "It'll be ok."

"How can you be so sure?" Ino whined, drooping her head onto his chest.

"I'm not, but I can at least pretend."

Sighing, and looking back up to him, she met his eyes. "This has to end. We'll just have to talk to them I guess."

"Ok."

"I mean it."

"We can do it."

"Good," she finally muttered, feeling relieved but panicking at the same time. Standing up for her relationship would make it even more real for her. Was he ready for that? Was she ready for that?

Only time would tell at this point.

* * *

A/N: Ahaha, so of course the day I finish this, my wifi goes kablooey. Oh well, I hope you guys have enjoyed this. I'm so happy to have time to write again, it feels so good to be productive!

I just got really absorbed in trying to maintain my 4.0 and work and watching Fairy Tail. Moving on has quite helped my Naruto pain.

Anyway lovelies, I'd really appreciate some reviews! Lemme know how you think this should end!

MyHikari


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Oh my gosh, guys, it's been so long. The absolutely sad thing, is i actually had this last chapter completely finished, but I wanted to update a bunch of things at once so I moved on to another story. Well, I lost everything, and until I got a new tablet I was stuck waiting. I've had to redo this from scratch between work, school and the other things i lost... *sigh* such is life.

* * *

Ino sighed, staring at her front door, Kiba at her side. They'd tried to stay out as long as possible, even after Mirai's party, hoping her mother would be in bed or still at the hospital with Junko. Kiba could smell her in the kitchen, however, dashing all those fantasies. He squeezed her hand reassuringly, before he frowned visibly, noticing something else.

"Ino," he began, in an unusually serious tone. "My mother is inside."

"Do you think she's noticed you?" She asked, frowning as well. This was terribly unexpected for her, and her headache began to return.

"I'm almost positive."

"Well," Ino said, steeling herself like the fearless shinobi she was supposed to be. "I guess we gotta go face the fire then, don't you think?"

He smirked in response. "Hell yeah!"

Opening the door, she crossed the threshold with Kiba and Akamaru's, his ever faithful companion, in her heels. A sinking feeling started in her gut, but she charged on across the sitting room towards the kitchen door, swinging it open and immediately seeing the face of Tsume Inuzuka.

She resembled her son greatly, but not Hana quite as much. She appeared to have the same aggressive and caustic attitude in the past, but lo and behold, the Inuzuka matriarch was seated civilly at the kitchen table, drinking tea with Ino's mother.

"What are you doing here, Ma?" Kiba asked from behind Ino, ever-growing her in the doorway to enter the room. Ino's mother said nothing, taking a very slow sip of tea, allowing Tsume to answer.

"I was wondering why I hadn't met your girlfriend yet, Kiba. I kept smelling a very flowery scent on you, and connected the dots once I learned Hana had business with Ino here. Decided to drop in, considering the past," she replied calmly, meeting her son's eyes. Ino frowned with confusion, looking towards her.

"You mean you don't hate the Yamanaka clan?" the girl asked before she could resist. She meant no malice in the question, merely reacting with knee-jerk confusion.

"Actually I don't. I...was just very angry in the wake of my husband's death. I wanted somebody to blame," the older woman said, looking to the one seated next to her. "I sorta wanted to apologize, frankly. Everybody reacts different in grief, I guess us Inuzukas are just prone to anger."

"We've been talking for about an hour now," Ino's mother stated, looking weary. Her daughter could tell that she wasn't entirely pleased, but she was behaving for the sake of burying hatchets.

"Oh," Ino said awkwardly, fiddling with her bangs a bit. "How's Junko?"

"She gave birth to a healthy baby boy," her mother replied, standing to get more tea. Kiba and Ino sat down at the table, where Tsume extended a hand.

"I'm Tsume," Kiba's mother said, shaking the girl's hand. "You're quite pretty, it's no wonder Kiba is so into you." She smirked at her son, who looked almost petulent at her teasing. He stayed quiet, however, not wanting to risk sparking any of the women's ire in some capacity. "You look like your father too, which is good I guess, since I always found him a bit feminine," she added, trying to lighten the mood.

"That's funny," Mrs. Yamanaka said, sitting down again with a teapot. "He always thought you were somewhat masculine."

"You never let that go, do ya, Thornbush?"

Ino's prim and proper mother blushed with embarrassment. Clearly their rivalry pre-dated anybody's death. It was almost childlike in the insults being exchanged.

"Um, Thornbush?"

"I fell into a thornbush in the Academy one time..." her mother explained irritably. Tsume grinned widely.

"She was also as prickly as one, too."

Kiba snorted, but Ino shot him a quick glare. He shrugged back.

"So," the girl began tentatively. "Does that mean we don't have any problems anymore?"

Her mother sighed, as Tsume gave her a pointed look saying that it was her turn to answer. "I guess...in retrospect, my problem wasn't entirely with Kiba, but my past with his mother. If it had been with Kiba, I still would be upset. But Tsume has apologized, and I suppose that I...may have been being angry about your father's passing enough to try to get back at her like she did with us."

"Good enough for me," Kiba stated happily, ready to stand and be on his way. Tsume growled lowly in warning, making him stay planted in his seat.

"Kiba, part of the problem was that she didn't know you properly. Get to know Thornbush, and maybe you'll get along better," Tsume advised, despite the slight hypocrisy in her words. Nobody called her out on it, though. Better to just move on from this turmoil.

Ino placed her hand on her mother's comfortingly. "I know it took a lot for you to say that, so thanks, Mom. I didnt exactly handle my grief in a healthy way either, and I know better, so I'm sorry. How bout we go shopping and have lunch tomorrow, to get back in the habit of talking to each other?"

"Sure, Ino, that'd be nice," her mother replied, taking her hand as well. Ino knew that they didn't exactly agree on fashion taste, but it was something they loved to do since Ino was little.

"Anyhow, I'm sorry about everything, Thornbush," Tsume said, standing. "I hope in the future we can be more civil for the sake of our pups." She offered her hand to Ino's mother, shaking it and exiting with little fanfare. "It was nice to finally meet you, Ino."

"You as well!" Ino called back, feeling a weight lifting from her chest. She had resolved everything with Shikamaru, Choji, her mother, and had gained Kiba along the way. The only thing left was to visit her father's grave and come to grips with everything.

"So," her mother said, a little awkwardly, and as if it pained her somewhat. "Kiba, would you, well...like to stay for some dinner?"

* * *

"And so now Mom and Kiba are ganging up on me, telling me I need to rest all the time and pretty much babying me," Ino said with a sigh, as she sat in front of her father's grave with a handful of appropriate flowers. "Their relationship was always so awkward in the past, and now it's like they're thick as thieves! She's even started calling him 'dear', like she does to Shikamaru and Choji."

"Shikamaru is a dad now, by the way," she said, chuckling to herself. "A little girl. He calls her troublesome and all that, but I can tell he really likes her, and misses her when he leaves too. He still says he hopes the next one is a boy, though. Choji has a girlfriend too, she's...interesting. But they seem to get along well, so honestly I think he's gonna pop the question soon."

Ino smiled sadly at the bittersweet thoughts she was having. "Everyone's lives are so different now, Dad. I hope you can see it, and Uncle Shikaku too. I know you guys would be proud of everyone. We're starting to get more and more authority within Konoha. It's kinda scary actually, because everything is changing so fast. Were you scared too?"

"Scared of what?" Kiba asked from behind her, approaching with Akamaru at his side. "Not commitment, I hope?"

"It's a little late for that," she replied, trying to stand but having a little trouble. He grabbed her hands to help her up, affectionately rubbing her large belly.

"Don't hurt yourself there," he warned with a chuckle. "You're carrying precious cargo, my little girl."

"I still think it's a boy," Ino said, teasing him. She was fully aware that they were having a daughter, but she wanted to see his face when his hopes were correct. "Mother's intuition, ya know. He feels ornery too, I bet he takes after you." She wasn't lying about that one, though. The baby was active, and had quite a kick.

"_She_ seems pretty spunky, like her mother," he retorted with a shrug.

"I don't know why you're hoping for a girl like me, between the two of us we'd bankrupt you with shopping sprees," Ino teased more, truthfully looking forward to going shopping with her daughter, just like she did with her own mother. "Not to mention all the time getting ready in the morning."

"Well, I fell in love with you anyway, so it won't be too hard to let that slide for her too," he said, his voice lighthearted, but tinged with shades of seriousness. It wasn't often he admitted things like that.

"Aww, Kiba, you're making me blush," she replied airily as they began to walk home together. "How was your Dad's plot?"

"It was pretty...grave."

"Kiba, it is too soon for Dad jokes!"

"I know, but your reactions are hilarious."

Ino sighed, shaking her head in exasperation. He made her happy, even if he was a dork, who smelled like dogs and was pretty obnoxious, and well, argumentative. But nobody's perfect.

Except her. She's perfect.

* * *

A/N: And there we have it, the end. It feels weird, but relieving because now it's finished. I've completed it! It may not be the best, but I created it in a spur of the moment and I enjoyed the challenges that presented me with.

Thank you to everyone to liked this story! You guys are awesome! Don't hesitate to reach out if you ever want more Kibaino in your life!

Love,

MyHikari


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